McHenry County couple accused of wake burglaries face new charges

A Johnsburg husband and wife already being held in Cook County on burglary charges found themselves in even more hot water Friday, after McHenry County police say they connected them to five burglaries that occurred while the homeowners were attending wakes or funerals.

On Friday, Jason Werner, 26, and his wife, Jacquelyn Buchholz, 24, of the 100 block of Pleasant View Drive, were each charged with five counts of residential burglary and five counts of theft.

The couple originally were charged with residential burglary on Sept. 21. Police said they broke into a home in Barrington. Police said they found Buchholz's phone at the scene and used it to track the couple down.

Barrington police arrested the couple in their Johnsburg home a day later and shared their information with the McHenry County sheriff's office.

The couple later confessed to using newspaper obituaries to find victims in McHenry and Boone counties and burglarizing their homes when the couple thought they'd be attending wakes or funerals, police said.

McHenry County authorities charged the couple with one count of residential burglary and theft while they continued the probe.

During the investigation, items that were reported stolen turned up at pawn and gold buying outlets in Lake County, authorities say.

The couple remain at the Cook County jail on $80,000 bail from the Barrington burglary charge and will be taken to McHenry County at a later date.

Bail has been set at $150,000 for the new charges. A court date has not yet been determined.

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